KOLKATA: Thirteen years ago, a young couple and their newborn had landed in Kolkata from a village in Chhattisgarh for medical treatment of the mentally disabled wife. All at sea in a big and bustling city, they were soon separated, with the wife ending up at Pavlov Hospital for the mentally distressed and the child at a shelter for kids.
Unable to trace his wife and son, the husband returned home but refused to give up on them. Not only did he not remarry despite parental pressure, he kept returning to Bengal every year during Gangasagar Mela in the hope of reuniting with his wife and son.
This year, his prayers were answered a week before the trip to Gangasagar on Makar Sankranti. On January 8, thanks to the efforts of Phoolbagan Police in Kolkata and Shakti Police in Chhattisgarh, Lalit Bareth was reunited with wife Gurbari.
The lost-and-found story goes back to October 20, 2010, when Gurbari, then 27 and suffering from severe mental disorder, was rescued by cops along with her 11-day-old son from near the city airport.
Gurbari and her child were initially brought to BC Roy Hospital due to the critical condition of the baby boy. When the mother continued to display violent behaviour, she was sent to Pavlov Hospital on the basis of a court order and the baby shifted to a shelter for children on recovery.
Two months ago, Phoolbagan PS received a memo from the superintendent of Pavlov Hospital that said the woman had completely recovered and was desperate to go back home.
"During conversation with the woman, sub-inspectors Mousumi Chakraborty and Biswajit Sinha Mahapatra could gather that she used to live somewhere in Madhya Pradesh or Chhattisgarh. The woman couldn't provide any address but said there were several brass and bronze utensil factories near her home. The information was shared on a countrywide WhatsApp group for SIs," said a senior officer. Subsequently, OC Surajit Banerjee contacted Bilaspur Police. The Kolkata and Bilaspur cops kept talking to the woman and finally managed to trace her home to Kirari village under Shakti PS in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh.
"Shakti PS sent us photos of the woman's parents and husband and she identified all of them," the officer said. On January 8, accompanied by a team from Shakti PS, Lalit reached Pavlov and identified his wife. The couple may leave for home in a couple of days.
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